2026 International Workshop on Risk Sharing (IWRS 2026)

Risk sharing is a crucial element in tackling global and societal challenges. It offers practical methods for distributing risk and responsibility among stakeholders, including individuals, businesses, governments, and financial institutions. By pooling resources or liabilities, these participants can work together to manage uncertainties related to climate disasters, market fluctuations, and an aging population.

The International Workshop on Risk Sharing (IWRS) series was established in 2024 by a dedicated group of researchers. Following the success of the inaugural event at the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) and the profound academic impact of the 2025 workshop at Tsinghua University, the 2026 IWRS will return to SUSTech.

Our vision for this year's symposium is to cultivate IWRS as an open forum that embraces diverse topics and perspectives, fostering meaningful dialogue and innovation across various areas of practice.

We invite scholars from fields such as actuarial science, economics, emergency management, management sciences, operational research, environmental science, and public policy to submit their work. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Risk Sharing and Actuarial Theory: Public-private partnerships (PPP), international burden sharing, SME loan compensation funds, decentralized insurance, and prevention measures

• Cyber Risk Sharing: Cyber risk and insurance, and blockchain and decentralized insurance.

• Health risk Sharing: Pension and retirement systems, tontine and longevity pooling, health share, and pandemic preparedness and responses.

• Catastrophe Risk Sharing: Catastrophe risk sharing/pooling, catastrophe insurance design, climate disaster funds, and weather derivatives.

Conference Details

• Dates: June 26–29, 2026. (Registration will be held on June 26th. The conference presentations will take place from June 27th to 28th. On June 29th, there will be free discussions, and the participants can then leave the meeting.)

• Venue: Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), Shenzhen.

• Fees: There is no registration fee for this symposium.

Given your extensive experience and unique insights in this field, we sincerely invite you to participate in this symposium. We believe your contribution will significantly enrich the discussions on risk sharing. Interested parties who wish to be considered as speakers must complete the official online application form and submit a detailed abstract via our Online Form: Application Form for 2026 IWRS, which will close on April 30, 2026. Applications will be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis due to limited capacity.

We look forward to welcoming you to SUSTech for this exciting opportunity to collaborate and innovate in risk sharing.

Organizing Committee

Ze Chen, Associate Professor, Renmin University of China

Runhuan Feng, Chair Professor, Tsinghua University

Yiying Zhang, Assistant Professor, Southern University of Science and Technology

Plenary Speakers

Topic I: Risk Sharing and Actuarial Theory

Topic II: Cyber Risk Sharing

Topic III: Health Risk Sharing

Topic IV: Catastrophe Risk Sharing

Contacts

Shaoying Liao, liaosy@mail.sustech.edu.cn

Yiying Zhang, zhangyy3@sustech.edu.cn